The Chancellor of the Exchequer, so disarmingly suave when he
introduced his Budget last week, was strangely and superfluously militant when sponsoring the Bill for the nationalisation of the Bank of England on Monday. This, quite clearly, was the second shot in the campaign, and it echoed much more loudly than the first. The Budget was a quiet opening movement, the Bank Bill harked back to the election campaign—not merely from Mr. Dalton's opening sentence, but even earlier still, for before he had said a word Mr. Dalton brandished in the air the Labour election manifesto, " Let Us Face the Future." That was the starting-point. From thence onwards exposition of the Bill was interlarded with constant studied references to the country's verdict, the five years' programme, the new social order, with various side comments on the Tories and their electoral failure. Sir Patrick Hannon interpolated a rather awkward questiod about the Chancellor's claim to have the people behind him when, in fact, less than half the voters supported the Labour Party. The Chancellor brushed it aside and proceeded to exhort his opponents, who had tried to frighten the electors and failed, not to kick against the pricks. The effect of it all was to elicit many easy cheers from the Labour back benches, but no other good effect was visible. It remains to be seen which of his two manners the Chancellor will decide to cultivate permanently. On Wednesday he was back to the better one.
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